Page 6-Thursday, September 22, 1977-The Michigan Daily' pppp-- -"qqqq Beethoven without spark By MARK JOHANSSON Cana woman play the piano as well, as a man? After all, the really great concert pianists are men. Does a large figure seated at the keyboard of a concert grand look more proper than a tiny one? Naturally, an artist must shake the 9 foot instrument with every forte chord. I asked myself these two questions and thought about the facts behind them Tuesday night as I listened to Maria Meirelles perform her fourth installment of the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas in Rackham Auditor- ium. Actually, she did very well. Her appearance on stage was command- ing, and she looked good at the piano. Was it her dress? Also, she could and did shake the piano; add another plus. Maybe Meirelles has an unusually good memory. She certainly has something. You could probably call it courage, because the sonatas, if played one after another, take well over eight hours to play! This series is no small undertaking and besides getting an A for effort, Meirelles gives some very good performances. Most of the recitals consi'st of four sonatas. They are not arranged according to opus numbers but are NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE WASHINGTON(AP)-Normal blood . pressure ranges from about 90 over 60 to 140 over 90, says the National High Blood Pressure Education Program. If the bottom number, known as the diastolic blood pressure, measures over 104 on two different readings, the program recommends a visit to a doctor for medication to lower the blood pressure. mixed for greater variety. Tuesday's program was well balanced, as some of the most popular and less popular sonatas were played. Opening the evening was Beetho- ven's first, the sonata, op. 2, no. 1, in f. This sonata probably attracted quite a bit of attention when first published in 1796, because it con- tained four movements instead of the usual classical three. After a shaky first movement with an erratic tempo and her hands not playing together, Meirelles seemed to get better as she played more. In the Adagio, her accompaniment in the left hand was even and her ornamentation was very smooth. In both the Adagio and the Prestissimo the melody was clear and firm and the first dropped notes in.the Prest- issimo were played during the re- peat. The menueto was precise with good contrasts and dynamic control. Meirelles gave her best perform- ance of the evening while playing the Sonata in A-flat, op. 26. This sonata is unique, since three of the move- ments, Andante with 'variations, Scherzo, and Funeral march, had not been used in sonatas until Beethoven. The second variation on the Andante was outstanding; the sound was very clear, despite all the chords, the attacks accurate 'and all notes seemed in place. The tempo and dynamics in the Scherzo were excel- lent, however, the texture in the Marcia was a little too choppy - it may have been the pedaling. In the Allegro the accuracy of the hands was very good and despite the difficulty, the tempo was kept, ex- tremely even. After intermission the Sonata in G, op. 31, no. 1, was performed. This is certainly not the most famous Bee- thoven sonata, and was the first time I heard it played in public. Through- out the piece I could not help but making jokes; it seemed so out of place alongside the rest. I believe the pianist did her best with it and the audience should be thanked for sitting through it. Only two straws are needed to break this sonata, and the second movement is number two. The movement starts out simple like an adagio should, but the embellish- ments come thick and fast - so much so, the piece sounds like it's going nowhere. The sheer length is taxing on the mind and the paces the left hand goes through near the end are agony. Sonata 26 in E-flat, op. 81, (Les Adieux), probably the most well- known piece'on the program, is a fairly late work and comes from the mind of a much more romantic Beethoven. Meirelles gave a solid tone to the Adagio where the ideas are firmly tied together with a strong sense of direction. In the great Adagio, the embellishments seem to be a part of the melody and do not detract from it. The pianissimo here was good without a sacrifice of tone. Even through the difficult passages of the Vivacissimamente including the rhythm changes and all the eighth and sixteenth notes Meirelles played with much authority while keeping the texture very clean. Overall, Meirelles' technique was very musical. She can be forceful, yet her touch is generally light, and her tone firm and warm. All these ingredients are basic to the interpre- tation of Beethoven's many moods. The final four recitals will be presented on September 23 and 27 and on October 1 and 4, all at 8:00 p.m. in Rackl am. Admission is complimentary. til r 1V" Vli F rk I I lqNsommossim- -MONSIMMEOPPP, Operatic talent captured on discs Conchita Supervia Vocal music lovers will be interested to hear the voice of Mezzo-soprano Con- chita Supervia on a new release by Seraphim records, Opera Arias and Spanish Songs. Although she has been dead for over 30 years, her legend lives on with this recording. Supervia was born in Barcelona in 1895, and made her debut in Buenos Aires at the Colon Opera House at the young age of fifteen. Several years later she had played many demanding "roles, including her performance in the Roman premier of Der Rosenkavalier. Her career peaked with revivals of Rossini in many European capitals dur- ing the early 1930's. She became es- pecially famous in L'Italiana in Algeri and La Cenerentola. She also perform- ed Ravel, Donizetti, Thomas, Berlioz and Mozart, in addition to her native Spanish zarzuela and folk songs. Con- chita Supervia died in 1936. Despite having been recorded be- tween 1927 and 1932, the album selec- tions'are quite remarkable with Super- via's voice sounding unexpectedly clean and clear. The orchestra behind hbr, however, sounds very weak and far away, and does not give enough support during the lyric, sostenuto phrases. In NOW. PLAYING AT ___Hh uncI Michigan s High Accuracy Audio Dealer" UPSTAIRS 312 State St. Ann Arbor 662-2026 ognuihD contrast, the piano accompaniment on the opposite side is in fine balance with, her voice. With the piano a greater dynamic range is heard, and a richer, more musical sound is achieved. Supervia's exceptional versatility is in evidence on side one. As Carmen, she sings Bizet's extraordinarily rhythmic and melodic arias with an exciting sen- se of seductiveness and passion even though the tempi change from habanera to seguidilla to chanson. These tempi all seem to be unusually fast for Carmen, especially the chan- son, although it may be the recording. From Mignon, Supervia sings Con- nais-tu le pays;, and slowly and sweetly tells of the land where she had lived be- fore being abducted by gypsies. Here she uses her great dynamic range to in- timately express her remorse: "Alas! - If only I could follow you to that hap- py shore from which Fate has exiled me." The emotions are very strong and the dispair very real. The vocal color change in Musetta's Waltz from La Boheme is striking. Her voice begins very rich and mellow, then rolls and lilts with the waltz, and finally she uses her great power'and control as her voice rises and falls in an effort to receive attention from her, former lover. In the final scenearia from La Cener- entola, Supervia's virtuosity is clearly evident. Even through a myriad of me- ter changes, dynamic varieties, nu- merous interval leaps' and slides, and complex ornamentation, her colora- tura remains extremely accurate, yet smooth, and above all, natural. This combination of a mellow mezzo- soprano with such a great coloratura talent brought Supervia her fame as an opera star. She also had an ability to sing the songs of her native Spain with all the emotion and fervor necessary to IN0W OPEN at 10:00A. M. BILLIARDS, PINBALL, & BOWLING at The U N ION convey the feelings they contained. Two collections of Spahish songs are recorded, on side two. Band one con- 'tains songs by Periquet arranged by Granados. Mostly fast paced and about typically Spanish subjects, girls, boys, love, and hate, they are simple songs with simple accompaniment, yet they have exciting and intriguing melodies which can be only interpreted best by a Spaniard. Perhaps the most exciting selections are the Seven Popular Songs arranged by Manuel de Falla, the most important Spanish composer of the 20th century. Here, Supervia sings the wild, haunt- ing, distindtly Spanish melodies against the unique, very difficult, and again typically Spanish rhythms of the piano accompaniment. In these songs are the best examples of Conchita Supervia's ability to convey vividly the deepest emotions with her truly unique voice. This album is important as a small tribute to an enormous talent. - MARK JOHANSSON Century's best Now °that Dolbyized stereo and even quadraphonic recordings have become passe, we tend to regard any pre-fifties record as quaint. Such arrogance is, to some extent, justifiable-after all, when such divas as Caballe, Sills and, Sutherland can be heard on first class recordings of fulflength 'operas, who wants' to hear yesterday's stars singing through the rumble and hiss of old 78's? Great Sopranos of the Century Sera- phim 60274 is an anthology of arias or-' iginally released between 1904 and 1948, and were it not for the brilliance of some of the performances, this disc would definitely fall in the "quaint" category. Indeed, its first two cuts are so technically primitive that fair as- sessment of the performances is almost impossible. Luisa Tetrazzini's recording of Meyerbeer's Shadow Song opens the first side. Recorded in 1908, the year of her New York debut, it is full of the leaps, runs, and thrills that coloraturas love to show off with, and Tetrazzini certainly gets all the note-, out. Such points as breath control and phrasing are impossible to consider because they simply do not come through on the record. Nellie Melba is represented by a 1904 rendition of the Ah, fors'e lui ... Sem- pre libera sequence from La Traviata. Her light, agile voice barely gets through the muddy sound of this recor- ding, but it does get through. Even though high passages tend to be on the sharp side and Melba takes some liber- ties with descending passages near the end, this is an enjoyable performance. A 1927 performance of Hojotoho! from Die Walkure brings us, at last, to electrical recordings. Frida Leider is the soloist, and takes an appropriately shrieky approach to one of Wagner's more embarrassing creations. Elisabeth Schumann's 1934 recording of Schubert's Ave Maria comes next. It is a very moving, simple, clear per- formance-before hearing this tasteful interpretation, I had always considered the piece syrupy. Maria Caniglia's ren- dition of Morro, ma prima in grazia from Un Ballo in Maschera is also quite affecting. These two selections are cer- tainly high points of the album. Unfortunately, Toti Dal Monte's "Un bel di," from Madam Butterfly is a low point. The liner notes say that Cio-Cio San was one of Dal Monte's "greatest successes," but, judging from this 1939 recording, I cannot understand why. Her voice is harsh and strident, hardly the voice of Puccini's vulnerable, in- nocent heroine. A highly sensual Liebestod, sung by Lotte Lehmann, begins side two. The fact that it was recorded in 1930, before a Wagnerian orchektra could be done much justice on records, is a slight drawback, but Lehmann's soaring voice makes up for any technical de- fects. After Eva Turner's workmanlike but conventional reading of 0 patria mia from Aida comes the record's most ex- citing selection. Claudia Muzio sings L'altra notte in fondo al mare from Mefistofele with a fire that Boito him- self would have loved. The piece calls for heavy use of the lower register, and Muzio's is fll and powerful. The remainin-selections are so-so. Kirsten Flagstad made a number of better recordings than the one included here (Traume) but it may prove in- teresting to those unfamiliar with non- theatrical Wagner. Maggie Teyte's singing of Debussy's Green is pleasant, and Madeleine Grey's supple treatment of Canteloube's Lo Fiolaire is better than the neurotic composition deserve$ Conchita Supervia sings Valverde's Clavelitos with great cheer and' bounce - the happy little tune is a nice conclusion to an album with as many ups and downs as this. - RICHARD LEWIS AN AMISH ACE WESTBURY, N.Y. (AP) - Trusty Time, a winning harness performer, at Roosevelt Raceway'in the spring of 1977, is a former Amish buggy horse. He was sold by his original" Amish owner for $305 because of his headstrong behavior when trucks passed him and his buggy. The first buyer then sold him for $400 to Don Jacobs of Mount Sterling, Ohio, who was out of work and had plenty of time to drive Trusty Time. He did and discovered the horse could run. Trusty Time's present trainer, Doug Hamilton, had a curious com- ment. "The horse goes wild around machinery," he said. "I can't train him near the water wagon. 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